Although the later 1950 film with the same name (which stays much closer to the original literary source) is probably better known, this earlier 1930s version (made in the first year of Soyuzmultfilm's existence, when it was still called Soyuzdetmultfilm) is a lot of fun. A great jazz soundtrack and lyrics. This was Ivanov's follow-up to his big hit of the year before, which has unfortunately been lost (only the 1950s remake survives). The animal musicians here are given a prominent appearance, though they originally have nothing to do with the story. But they were popular, so they were in! Much the same logic as the appearance of Mickey Mouse or Betty Boop in stories that had nothing to do with them in American animation, of which Ivanov was a big fan (and this was the main source of conflict between him and fellow director Ivanov-Vano - a conflict that Ivanov-Vano eventually won simply by living longer, and the escalating Cold War didn't hurt).

Like the later 1950 adaptation, I managed to translate this one in rhyme, with the same number of syllables per line, and close to the same meaning. I also, in a first for me, did it entirely while on an airplane, using the on-flight wifi.